This course will explore the idea of “England” through British literature, poetry, histrorical texts, and film by asking students to consider it as a constructed space that cultural producers have sought to “reboot” almost since its inception. A term borrowed from the lexicon of computing, to “reboot” means to restart a machine or operating system. In cultural and literary terms, “rebooting” means something similar: to start anew with fresh ideas in a way that is consistent with the principals of the original, but not unnecessarily constrained by what has taken place before. Beginning with a reading of Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Historia Britonum and the notion that Britain derives its name from Brutus, the alleged great-grandson of Aeneas (who, arguably, arrived on English shores with the idea of rebooting Troy), students will move through redactions of Arthurian legend, Shakespearean drama (our focus will be on the particularity with which contemporary performances of Shakespeare are inevitably in conversation with contemporary articulations of Englishness) and conclude with a consideration of how nineteenth century London novel (as exemplified by Dickens) compares with the twenty-first century productions of Zadie Smith, Hanif Kureishi, and the BBC rebooting of Sherlock.
When we were preparing to set off on this great adventure everyone told us, “don’t be afraid to go off on your own if you need alone time.” The person I was before this semester thought that it would be fine to go off but that I probably wouldn’t need to, but boy was I…
England has been filled with fish and chips, good sandwiches and going out to eat a lot in general. I’m not complaining in any way, I’m a big fan of food, but the other night I was feeling pretty sluggish. I decided I should go for a run, and actually followed through with it….
The FSA squad has grown very close over the past month or so. Traveling abroad for the beginning of our college experience has been a very unique experience and has created a strong bond between our small group of 13 young adults. In a majority of ways this closeness has been a very positive thing,…
Seeing the Fisherman’s Friends performance was an incredible look into the community of Port Isaac’s. Staying in such an idyllic seaside village was breathtaking in many ways: whether it was the striking landscape, or the picturesque cows grazing freely in the perfectly green fields. Staying somewhere can give you insight to many aspects of a…
Its about 12:00 and my phone starts ringing, its Will. “What could he possibly want right now”, I think to myself, as I’m about to head to my room and go to bed. Begrudgingly, I answer and immediately I know that I’m not going to bed any time soon. The crazy news I received from…
I’ve been sitting here staring at this blank screen for the last 15 minutes, occasionally skipping a song on my iTunes, (im)patiently waiting to be inspired. Trying to describe the experience of London is much harder than I anticipated so I won’t try and do it all at once. Instead, I’ll embrace my 21st century…
Exulansis n. the tendency to give up trying to talk about an experience because people are unable to relate to it- whether through envy or pity or simple foreignness- which allows it to drift away from the rest of your life story, until the memory itself feels out of place, almost mythical, wandering restlessly in…
There are many odd things that one sees when wandering the streets of London. There are shops that you won’t find in the States, a wide assortment of people, restaurants to satisfy every sort of craving, and street musicians. Lots and lots of street musicians. You can’t walk down Oxford Street without hearing some type…
One day in class we were deep into the discussion of The Importance of Being Earnest when randomly, the thought of the dreaded freshmen 15 crossed my mind. I was immediately nervous about the famed fact and decided to run later in the afternoon. After class, I skipped art galleries and the general tom foolery…
During my time in Oxford I had a brush with death. I saw my entire life flash before my eyes and for a second I thought I was meeting my demise. Eighteen years isn’t a bad run on this earth statistically speaking, right? Alright, I may be over exaggerating things a little bit. The fact…
